Adam Dachis

You spend quite a bit of time in your home, so you probably want it to look nice and feel like a welcoming environment for guests. Putting together a great space can get expensive, but if you can't spend the cash on upgrades, personal finance blog Wisebread points to a few simple changes you can make to dramatically improve your home.

For starters, the arrangement of your furniture—especially in living room and lounge areas—makes a difference. There's a tendency to create L-shapes, but that may not be the best way to go:

Instead of buying all new furnishings, consider maximizing space with the items you already have. Lauri Ward of Redecorate.com suggests creating a "u-shape" with your furnishings, instead of an "L-shape," to create a more comfortable conversation area. Other tips include making sure your furniture isn't blocking traffic patterns and avoiding having all your furniture against the walls (something people commonly do when trying to "open" a room up). Both mistakes can make rooms appear clunky or smaller than they really are.

Additionally, the post suggests hanging your photos a bit lower. Apparently it's pretty common for people to hang their photos too high by about three inches. This tends to look bad in a way people can't really put their finger on. Move the photos and other wall art down a bit and they'll make a better visual impact.